Credit card fraud suspect images released by Clay County Sheriffs

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. -- The Clay County Sheriff's Office is aggressively pursuing leads in the ongoing investigation of a large number of financial fraud cases involving stolen credit card information.

The Financial Crimes Unit of the CCSO has received twenty-eight reports from Oakleaf/Argyle residents claiming that their credit card information was stolen and used fraudulently.

Officers are investigating the possible use of "skimming" devices by suspects to obtain the victims credit card information without actually stealing the physical cards. They believe the suspects then create fake credit cards with the information they have gathered and used them to purchase a variety of items in the Orlando, Tampa, Miami areas with a few additional locations in Texas and Georgia, according to a press release from the CCSO.

The release also states that officers believe that more than one skimming device is suspected.

Skimming occurs when a piece of equipment is installed over an existing credit card swiping mechanism, such as at a gas pump or ATM machine. This equipment may look very similar or exactly like the true swiping mechanism, however it reads every swipe of victims credit cards and gives the account information potentially including the users debit card PIN to the criminals.

CCSO has evaluated many business in the Oakleaf/Argyle area looking for skimming devices. At the time, investigators have not found any such devices.

Anyone with information about these alleged crimes or potential locations of the suspects is asked to contact lead investigator Detective Wayne Simandl at (904) 264-6512.